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Tianjin, China -The China Junior National Team broke open a close game early in the second half and coasted to a 79-69 victory over the NetScouts Basketball USA All-Stars. 6’8″ forward Zikai Meng had a breakout game for China with 30 points and 15 rebounds. Meng converted 11-of-12 two-point shots, finished plays with five dunks and grabbed six offensive rebounds.

China held a slim 38-36 lead with one minute left in the first half before scoring a quick six points to take an eight-point lead into the half. They then held the Americans to a 10-point third quarter as China took a 16-point lead into the final stanza. The USA increased their defensive pressure late in the game, came up with several steals and cut the lead to eight in the final minute. The Americans could have cut the lead to five on a three-pointer but the shot missed, China got the rebound and ended the game

USA Head Coach Rod Jensen: “Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to our players that they need to give maximum effort against this caliber of competition. Maybe it was a result of having only one practice, or the long trip, but tonight we were beaten by a better team. We’ll continue to strive to improve and try to show that improvement tomorrow night and the next time we face the Chinese.”

China had a +6 advantage on the boards. The USA shot only 7-of-21 on three-pointers and 57 percent (12-of-21) from the free throw line. At one point the USA was 6-of-15 on FT’s. The USA was charged with ten more fouls than China. Many of those calls were a result of the USA swiping and reaching for steals.

The USA team try to get in the win column as they face Lithuania tomorrow night in the late, 9PM game.

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Managing Partner, NetScouts Basketball "The International Basketball Connection". Columnist, Basketball Times and Huffington Post. College and Professional Basketball Scout.
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